The Client
MERJE are delighted to support one of the UK’s leading education institutions with an excellent reputation for outstanding teaching, strong research and international links.
They are continuing to look to the future whilst responding to sector-wide challenges. They have set out a vision and strategy that builds upon strong foundations in education, student experience and research, embracing flexibility and growth to ensure a sustainable future for our community, and to enable them to further their position and navigate these challenges successfully.
As part of this, they are reshaping their operating model to ensure all directorates and academic divisions are effective, efficient and focused sharply on delivering the ambition to be a leading education provider; delivering an outstanding student experience, outcomes, and world-leading research.
In the context of these exciting changes, and a review of service delivery requirements, they have refreshed key roles within the newly created Directorate of Governance and Assurance.
Role purpose
The Enterprise Wide Risk Manager leads the management and delivery of the organisations institutional risk management approach, working with a wide range of stakeholders at different levels across the organisation. They ensure alignment with the organisations strategic vision and objectives and ensure that the governance arrangements in respect of risk management meet all regulatory requirements.
Role accountabilities
•Lead the management and delivery of the risk management approach in alignment with the strategic vision and objectives, ensuring that the governance arrangements in respect of risk management meet all the regulatory requirements
•Produce and update the Risk Management Framework to enable Units to support effective decision making and prioritisation; review the risk management framework each year, gathering and considering feedback from stakeholders, in order to continually improve the effectiveness of the framework
•Produce and update the Internal Control Framework, to enable units to implement proportionate controls, review the internal control framework each year, gathering and considering feedback from stakeholders, in order to continually improve the effectiveness of the framework
•Manage the annual review of risk management strategy with Council and ensure that it is used to drive alignment in risk-based decisions and actions across the organisation.
•Lead the embedding of a more effective risk culture throughout the organisation, aligned with Council’s stated risk management strategy; facilitate knowledge sharing, and promote continuous improvement
•Build risk management capability across the organisation by providing advice and support to risk owners (including presentations to key groups as appropriate), facilitating/delivering risk management training and developing tools, templates, and role descriptions to enhance risk management practice, promoting use of the Risk Management System, and developing it to ensure it adds value to the organisations risk management processes.
•Build internal control capability by ensuring that all aspects of the Internal Control Framework are disseminated organisation wide, facilitate/deliver internal control training, develop tools and templates to enhance internal control practice and assisting and supporting the development of corporate policies and standards.
•Support (working in close collaboration with colleagues in the Strategy and Planning Directorate) the annual horizon scanning activity identifying emerging strategic risks to the, considering political, economic, legislative, and regulatory, technology and environmental factors, continuously monitor changes to the organisations environment that could impact its risk exposure
•Lead the annual enterprise-wide risk assessment activity including the coordination of risk modelling on a current and forward-looking basis, delivering scenario analysis activity and qualitative risk assessments, production of the annual risk report to the Audit Committee and the Executive Group
•Lead on deep dive reviews of key issues and the management of material incidents as required by members of the Audit Committee or by members of the Executive Group and produce papers for their consideration.
•Lead and coordinate the risk management maturity assessment activity, producing an annual risk maturity assessment report to facilitate an understanding of the risk management culture and the gaps that need to be addressed to improve risk management maturity
•Lead and coordinate the annual process for assessing the adequacy of the design and operational compliance of the internal control environment, coordinate and support the process of policy review and approval.
•Support risk impact analysis of strategic and operational changes within the organisation and provide advice to ensure that risks are adequately mitigated
•Support business intelligence development to ensure that risk parameters are proportionately monitored.
•Support internal audit to understand the risk and any changes in the organisations risk profile to enable risk-based audit planning activity
•Support senior managers in the escalation of any critical issues or material incidents that have the potential to expose the institution to unnecessary risk
Key challenges
•The post holder should be the institutions primary expert on risk management, and should role model for colleagues the standards expected in this domain.
•The post holder will need to exercise consistent, positive, and persuasive communications across the executive and senior management team to ensure that risk management arrangements are embedded consistently with the Councils risk management strategy.
•The post holder will be expected to operate with a high degree of independence across internal directorates and departments.
•This role will involve liaison with other divisions and departments, using high levels of influencing and persuasion to ensure compliance with risk management and internal control frameworks
•The Enterprise-Wide Risk Manager will be a key member of the Assurance team reporting to the Assistant Director (Assurance) but with a dotted line to the Director of Governance and Assurance as appropriate. They may be involved in managing project-related budgets, as required.
Candidate Requirements
Essential
•Educated to degree level or equivalent professional qualification or experience
•Significant experience and previous responsibility held for risk management and internal control
•Awareness of the external environment for the higher education industry and the consequential challenge to the business model
•Awareness of the internal operations of an educational organisation covering research, education, and commercial business lines and the consequential exposure to risks
•Awareness of strategic and governance processes including business planning, performance monitoring, change portfolio management and financial planning and how these interact with risk management activities
•Ability to influence senior stakeholders and build successful relationships and networks at all levels
•Ability to effect meaningful change within an organisation and to influence operational arrangements
•Ability to embed risk management and internal control arrangements in a large organisation
•Ability to analyse and synthesise large amounts of quantitative and qualitative data and draw conclusions and raise recommendations
•Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to exercise sound judgement in proposing and implementing appropriate quality enhancements
•Strong communication skills, oral, written, and presentational, with experience in writing papers for senior audiences including boards and executive groups
•Excellent interpersonal skills, with the ability to use tact and diplomacy when dealing with a diverse group of people at all levels, and self-confidence to be able to influence and challenge at all levels
•Strong organisational skills, with the ability to coordinate activity by many business managers who are outside of direct line of control.
•Good numerical skills and ability to identify, analyse, interpret, and present complex information effectively, to comment on its significance, and to develop proposals for action
Desirable
•Risk Management qualification or equivalent senior level experience
•Experience of project management and change management
•Knowledge of key regulatory and legislative areas including, but not limited to: H&S, Data Protection, Employment law, CMA, Research excellence, knowledge exchange, and teaching excellence frameworks
•Business Process re-engineering, Project, Programme and Change Management methodologies and their application
Please note, should feedback not be received within 28 days due to the large volume of applications, unfortunately, your application has been unsuccessful. However, we may be in touch with similar relevant opportunities.